1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to systems for custom fitting of golf clubs to players and, more particularly, to a golf club fitting system in which club deadweight and balance are matched to each player's physical strength level, flexibility, and swing type, the clubs within the player's set are weight and balance matched for more consistent on-course performance, the ability to perform test hitting on an adjustable lie-board which is adjusted to the playing position of the desired fitting club thus eliminating the use of innumerable test clubs with different lie angles and enabling determination of exact lie angle specifications and that the test clubs used in connection with the system of the present invention are adjustable both in length and head weight to determine the unique and correct fitting specifications for each user of the system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The golf equipment industry continues to make quantum leaps in club design and construction materials, with millions upon millions of dollars being poured into advertising of the new technology and further research and development to come up with even more technological advances, all to try to gain an edge in the highly competitive marketplace. While companies have adopted a wide variety of design and performance concepts, one area which has become of primary importance is effective club fitting and the improvement of custom club building capabilities. However, the advances in club design have not been matched by similar advances in club fitting, particularly in the areas of comprehensive information, economics and simplicity of the fitting process. There is therefore a need for a club fitting system which is efficient, accurate and cost-effective to permit the widest use of the system.
Even though there are numerous configurations of fitting systems in use today, there are several very important issues which remain unaddressed and unsolved. While most reputable club fitting systems address the more common fitting specifications in some fashion or another, including shaft flex, shaft length, grip size, lie angle and loft, there is no single system which addresses these specifications and also addresses club weight and club balance as they relate to player physical strength and swing types to prepare a truly matched set of clubs for each player. There is therefore a need for a golf club fitting system which will address many different significant specifications during the fitting process, yet will do so in a relatively simple and straightforward manner to permit use of the system by fitters with only a moderate amount of training.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf club fitting system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf club fitting system in which the player's grip strength is tested to determine the proper dead weight of the golf club to be used, the selected golf club is measured to determine the swing weight of the selected golf club, the balance index is determined by dividing the dead weight by the swing weight, and the proper club set selection is determined by graphing the balance index versus the dead weight to find each club for use by the player.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf club fitting system which includes an adjustable lie board and the use of marking tape on the club head which will determine the proper fitting of the test club and moreover, that the use of the adjustable lie board will permit the use of a single test club during the fitting process, with angle changes being made via the adjustable lie board instead of through the use of multiple test clubs with slightly different club head angles.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf club fitting system which includes significant player interviews for gathering of information regarding preferred clubs, playing capabilities and strengths and weaknesses in order to permit the user of the present invention to make minor adjustments to the specific club set dictated by the numbers set forth by use of the present fitting system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf club fitting system which is usable with only a small amount of training so that the proper use of the system is generally guaranteed regardless of the experience of the user.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved golf club fitting system which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and is intuitive, safe, effective, and accurate in use.